Research published today in the peer-reviewed journal Contraception shows that a significant number of British women are seeking abortions outside the prohibitive framework of the 1967 Abortion Act.

According to data collected from the abortion rights, services, provisions group Women on Web in the four-month period November 2016 to March 2017 over 500 British women contacted the group requesting the medication necessary to carry out an at-home abortion.

The 1967 Abortion Act makes no mention of abortion pills, as such medications had yet to be invented. The law has been interpreted in a way that forbids the use of abortion pills outside the offices of specific medical professionals. Abortion Rights condemns this interpretation and argues that the law should be interpreted in a compassionate way that prioritises the needs and experiences of women, allowing women to take abortion pills safely and in their homes.

Kerry Abel, Chair of Abortion Rights said, ‘There is hard evidence adds to our assertion that women should be trusted to make personal decisions affecting their bodies without unnecessary and outdated (not medically relevant) restrictions from a fifty-year-old law.’

It is important to note that if a woman in Great Britain chooses to have an abortion outside the strict limitations of the 1967 Abortion Act then she could be prosecuted under the 1861 Offences against the Person Act which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Surely no one in contemporary British society would want a woman to suffer such an injustice simply for choosing to exercise reproductive autonomy.

Abortion Rights is the national pro-choice campaign, working to defend and extend abortion rights and provide a pro-choice voice to the media.

Since 1967 the Abortion Act has enabled women to access abortions in England, Wales, and Scotland.

One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime.

70% of people support a woman’s right to choose in Britain. However, there is a vocal minority that continually seeks to introduce amendments to legislation in Parliament that would undermine women’s bodily autonomy and existing law and practice.

Abortion Rights is the national pro-choice campaign, working to defend and extend abortion rights and provide a pro-choice voice to the media.

Since 1967 the Abortion Act has enabled women to access abortions in England, Wales, and Scotland.

One in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime.

70% of people support a woman’s right to choose in Britain. However, there is a vocal minority that continually seeks to introduce amendments to legislation in Parliament that would undermine women’s bodily autonomy and existing law and practice.